A pianist who has always given more attention to the
shape of a melody than to the condition of his outward career, musicians'
musician Bobo Stenson is suddenly ubiquitous. His work with Tomasz Stanko and
Charles Lloyd has been acclaimed by critics worldwide, he is the musician most
extensively featured on the ECM anthology Selected Signs, and his own
Swedish/Norwegian trio has become one of Europe's most popular touring bands.
The trio's previous release Reflections collected several prizes, including a
Swedish Grammy and the Golden Record Award of Orkester Journalen. War Orphans
finds Stenson, Anders Jormin and Jon Christensen in peak form as they rove
freely through an intriguing repertoire that includes two Ornette Coleman tunes,
Ellington's "Melancholia", a beautiful Cuban love song by Silvio Rodríguez, and
original material by bassist Jormin and the leader.